Crazy Horse. Hughes was signed in February 1967 by Shankly and
was one of the first men to be brought in to start re-building the first
of Shanks' great sides. He was the first of the new signings to
cement a place in the side. Hughes cost £65,000 from Blackpool
when he signed although Shankly had watched him for months.

He gained his Crazy Horse nickname after just four matches at the
reds and it stuck for the rest of his career. Emlyn was predominantly
left sided although was strong with both feet and also dominant in the
air and despite some early rash challenges he went on to become a very
cool and calm customer on the pitch. In 1973/74 he replaced Tommy
Smith as captain of the side and it was he who became the first Red
to lift the European cup. At the time of taking over captaincy
he moved into the centre of defence to form a very strong partnership
with Phil Thompson. His captaincy was typified in his play rather
than as a talker on the pitch. He led by example and although
he wasn't always popular with team mates after the change from Tommy
Smith he remained captain.

His career saw him score a number of important goals for the reds
and they usually came from one of his crazy runs forward from the defensive
line. His character was very bubbly and you could always find
a huge grin on Hughes' face throughout his career. He lifted the
UEFA Cup for the reds and then went on to captain the side to back to
back European Cup wins. When he finally left the club he joined
Wolves and as captain there took them on to League Cup success.

He was a born leader on the pitch and he is still the most capped
Red for England whilst at the club. After his career had finished
he even managed to become a captain again. This time it was on
TV's quiz show A Question of Sport. Sadly Emlyn Hughes died in
late 2004.